Back in third grade
My teacher had the class create a gift for Father’s Day
I made it for my momma instead
Cause my momma was my father everyday
I wasn’t sad till I dropped it on the floor
And Paul who sat across from me
Picked it up, and he read it and laughed
And made me feel like less than I could be

But I moved on
Cause the love that she gave me
Had to be more than the love that he had
Gotten from both his mother and father combined
And I don’t mean nothing by that
Other than just to say just how great my mom was
She was all that I had
She was all that I needed
And I’m glad that I was raised by a woman as strong as that

When I was just a few months old
My grandparents came down from Missouri
It was the first time they met my mom
And their son’s second baby
They were there for a day
And that’s all it took for my dad to get high
Took the car and my mom’s credit card and he didn’t even say goodbye

He was missing for days
But it only took one for my grandparents to leave
They dropped off some diapers, rebooked their flight and flew right back to Missouri
And I didn’t seem them for another few years
And I think them leaving so was wrong
But my mother she stayed strong
Got back on her feet despite all that was going on

And shortly after that incident
My mother kicked my dad out of the home
And he chased us around for awhile

But then he stopped and just left us alone
My mother and I were a team
And together we took on the world
My mother’s love was enough
That I didn’t feel anything missing in our home
And with a mom like that
How could I ever have time to miss my dad?
Ya I grew up in a single parent home
But with all of the love that I had
You would’ve never known it then
And you can’t measure love like that
Cause my mother’s love was enough
That I didn’t ever feel like I needed my dad

Me and my mom would catch in the drive way for hours every day
And she’d watch as I played basketball in the yard with a smile on her face
And she learned all the rules of every sport that I wanted to play
And left work early every time to see the start of every game

Meanwhile my dad missed every day of my life growing up
But that’s okay, in a way I’m glad
Because god I love my mom just so much
But just because I don’t miss him
Doesn’t mean it wasn’t hard growing up
Because being a black boy is hard
And it’s made even harder without a dad to show you love

But then again, I found my way
And I did it all without my dad
And I ain’t nothing special but my mom is
She gave me all that love that she had
She said son it’s a miracle we made it out alive from those early days
I said it ain’t no miracle
It’s jus tall of the love she gave

And for that every Father’s Day to me is Mother’s Day
And I’ve forgotten all about that incident back in the third grade
At the time I was hurting so damn bad
I thought I’d never be a man

But my momma was also my father growing up
And it was more than most kids will ever have